AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I will, Jacob.” She looked up again. She was wearing a dark green tank top and capris. She’d tossed her chef’s jacket onto the stone wall, another clue that Josie Gallagher didn’t always follow the rules. “Maybe you and Addie can stop by for food later, too.”
“She’d love the baked potatoes and toppings, but she’s out with my parents today. They arrived late yesterday, and Addie is already filling them in on the town, her intentions to stay and why it’s the perfect place in the world, which may have something to do with your cousin’s cows.”
“She wants to stay?” Josie faced him fully, and he’d have to be blind to miss the new concern in her expression and Jacob had excellent vision. So what was it that could possibly bother her? “Here?”
“Well, she’s six, so the realities of job procurement are somewhat lost on her.” He grinned. “She considers that a minor detail, but yes. She now considers Grace Haven her home.”
“It’s a wonderful town. And a great place to raise a family,” Josie told him, but she looked more sad than happy. “A lot of the Gallagher clan settled in the area, so we can relate to Addie’s fondness.”
His phone rang.
He wanted to ignore it.
He wanted to ask what put that note of melancholy in her eyes, but she moved back into the kitchen.
He answered the phone, and for the next several hours he was caught up in the busyness of overseeing the overseers. And when Maybelle arrived midafternoon to check the kitchen detailing in all four restaurants, he ran into her at the upscale Eastern Shore Steak Company on the second floor, angled with a curved and stunning view of the water and the rolling hills beyond. “How does the steakhouse look, Maybelle?”
She handed him a short list. “A few things to tweak, and the sooner the better so your fancy chef with an attitude doesn’t come down on you like a swatter on a fly.”
“Apt analogy.” He pocketed the list. “And the other spots?”
“Josie’s got her hand in that barbecue already, and the room’s not quite done, so if the health inspector wanders by, make sure no one’s cutting dry wall while she’s stirring sauce or making chili, all right? That girl’s more ambitious than most, and it’s so good to see her up here in her own element, doin’ fine. Just fine.”
The heartiness in her observation tweaked him. “Is there a reason she wouldn’t be doing fine?” It wasn’t Maybelle’s response, but her face that said there might be more than she was saying.
“It’s a tough business to get into, and she’s got tenacity.” Maybelle shrugged. “And that’s all I’m sayin’.”
And yet her expression continued to indicate there was more to the story.
“The downstairs café is all set to go except for the tables, and the sandwich bar refrigerator unit isn’t the one I ordered,” she told him. “I know it’s a fuss, but there’s a reason I ordered the larger unit with better compression.”
“I’ll have it switched out within the week. Did you see the smoker?”
“I surely did, and the pride and joy in Josie’s eyes when she showed it to me.” Maybelle patted his shoulder. “Your men did well, that’s the cornerstone of a great barbecue. To have a grand old smoker and a cook who is not afraid to use it. She said you’re planning a smaller version for catering gigs. That’s all the rage right now, so it’s a smart move, Jacob. I’ll tell Marv Carrington that when I see him, but I expect it was your call. You see a lot more than most job supers do, and when it comes to restaurant creation, you are your daddy’s boy.” She started for the door. “Call if you need to, I’ve got to check on a kitchen just outside of DC, and you know folks with mansions. They need to have the best of everything in a room they generally never see. But it will be a cook’s dream.”
“I expect it will.” He didn’t say he understood that reasoning better than most. The thought of his mother cooking was more fairy tale than fact, but his father loved to cook, so it worked out.
